


Above and Beyond

by shadowblade_tara



Series: Nyctophilia [5]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Eddie!whump, M/M, Venom is not pleased, Venom swears, because of course, but Eddie gets his ass beat, nothing too graphic, screaming occurs later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 14:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16620923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowblade_tara/pseuds/shadowblade_tara
Summary: “I need you to promise me something, V.”What?“No matter what happens, do not come out.”  Immediately he can feel Venom’s unease, but he continues on.  “Do not come out, do not heal me, do not do anything.  Pretend like you aren’t here.  Got it?”





	Above and Beyond

It doesn’t happen as fast as Eddie originally expected it, especially after the not-so-subtle crackhead watching him.

The bad part is, he knows exactly what’s happening when it finally does go down. He gets an anonymous email about a case he’s working on for his freelance gig, a potential source that promises his fluff piece might be more than just fluff. The source requests to meet in a nearby parking garage after hours, someplace where they won’t be disturbed and no one can listen in on them. As far as Eddie can find on the place, there’s not even a night security. You just need the passcode to get in, which his source conveniently supplies him with.

It has trap written all over it, and Eddie knows exactly what the trap is. He wonders, briefly, if they know about the symbiote, but there’s no way to know until the meeting.

And Eddie goes.

**Something is wrong.**

Venom makes it a point now to not actively search through Eddie’s mind anymore, instead trusting their host to tell them what they need to know. Eddie makes a face.

They stand just outside of the parking garage. The meet spot is just outside of elevator B on the third floor. Eddie stares at the door for a moment before responding. “I need you to promise me something, V.”

**What?**

“No matter what happens, do not come out.” Immediately he can feel Venom’s unease, but he continues on. “Do not come out, do not heal me, do not do anything. Pretend like you aren’t here. Got it?”

**Eddie –**

“Promise me, V.”

To his mild surprise, Venom doesn’t try to force an explanation. They sound suspicious when they finally agree. **We will not allow you to die.**

“It’s not gonna come to that. I promise you.”

**Okay. We trust you.**

Eddie nods to himself. “Thank you.” He punches in the code and heads inside. The hike up the stairs to the third floor is done in silence. When they approach elevator B, however, Venom starts to stir.

**Eddie. There’s four of them.**

Yeah, he expected that. He puts on the appropriate air of surprise as he approaches the two who are immediately obvious. The other two are in the shadows, waiting to surround Eddie. He can’t see them, but Venom can. The two men he can see stand just beneath an overhead light that illuminates the elevator doors.

“I thought you wanted to meet alone.” he says. One man has red hair, the other black. Red just smiles at him.

“You aren’t that stupid, Eddie Brock. I’m surprised you showed up at all.”

Eddie shrugs. “Well, considering the druggie you had following me the other day, you showed your hand a bit early. How much information did you actually get from me having dinner with Anne?” Venom’s anger roils through him as they make the connections Eddie already suspected. 

Red keeps that faint smile. “Not enough. Which is why you’re here.”

That earns him a scowl. “It’s not here. It burned when the rocket exploded.”

“See, that’s what we thought. But then I thought, hey, no harm in checking, right?” Red takes a step forward, and that’s the cue for the two goons in the shadows to step forward. Eddie’s surrounded, but he’s not afraid. 

“So, tell me, Eddie – where is it?”

“It’s dead.” The words _hurt_ , but it’s gonna hurt so much more if these assholes get Venom, and Eddie will not let that happen.

One of the goons behind him shoves him forward – right into Black’s right hook.

Pain explodes across his face. The blow knocks him to the ground. Venom surges under his skin, but he shoves them back with a mental shout.

_You promised._

**Are you insane! We can take them!**

He ignores Venom and stands up. “What – you think if you beat me hard enough I’ll just give it up?” he snarls. “Or maybe it’ll reveal itself to you, and you’ll hurt it somehow and take it away?” He laughs, the sound harsh and hysterical, even to him. “You can’t do that – _it’s already dead_.”

Red’s smile finally fades away. “We’ll see about that, Eddie.”

**Eddie!**

Then the beating begins in earnest, knocking him to the ground again. Eddie automatically curls up into a ball, protecting his abdomen and head as much as he can, but he can still _feel it_ as the boots connect with his back and side, feel his ribs snap under the impact. He cries out in pain, and Venom screams inside his head.

With broken ribs, there’s not much he can do when Black reaches down, rolls him over, and punches him in the face a few times.

**We’ll kill you!**

_No! You promised!_

**This is insane! Eddie, _please!_**

“That’s enough.” Red says calmly, and Black finally backs off. Red stands there, staring at Eddie like he’s a dog turd the guy stepped in. “Figures. You’re too pathetic to fight back without the symbiote. I guess it really did die.” With that, the four men walk away. Red pauses for just a moment. “I would recommend a hospital, Eddie. You should think of a good story.”

Eddie grimaces. Shit.

He doesn’t move until he hears the door next to the elevator open and close. Venom shifts against his skin. **They’re gone.**

“Thank God.” Eddie groans. He frowns as Venom keeps poking around. “Hey, none of that.”

**They’re gone, you idiot.**

“Yeah, and they’ll be checking hospital records to make sure I got patched up.” He forces himself to his feet, but the blurred room says he’s not making it to any hospital under his own willpower. “Shit. I’m gonna have to call Anne.” It’s going to be hard enough getting down the stairs.

Venom wraps themself around Eddie’s waist, not healing but acting as a brace for his busted ribs. Eddie sighs in relief as he staggers down the stairs, cell phone in one hand. As soon as he gets a signal, he’s calling Anne. “Thanks, V.”

But Venom doesn’t respond.

/---------/

Venom stays silent for a long time after that. They don’t say a word the entire time Anne drives them to the hospital, when Eddie explains what happened to Dan (he’s completely honest about the whole thing, except the part where Venom had to _sit back and watch_ ), during the exam where Dan confirmed three broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone, a split lip, and probably some severe internal bruising. Eddie draws the line at an MRI, although Dan strongly recommends one.

They stay silent while Anne drives them home. They keep poking at Eddie, silently demanding to be allowed to heal the damage done, but Eddie refuses them every time. 

“They were after Venom?” Anne’s voice shatters the silence, effectively distracting both the symbiote and their host. Eddie nods.

“Yeah. Figured they might come around eventually.”

Anne makes a noise of disgust. “Don’t worry about it. The threat of a lawsuit will shut them up for a while.” Eddie scoffs at that. Anne glances at him. “Is Venom really gone?”

Eddie doesn’t even bother to look at her. “You think I would be this messed up if they weren’t?”

And suddenly the reality of what Eddie has done hits Venom like a freight train.

They stay silent until Eddie has locked the door of their new (but still kinda crummy) apartment and just stands there in the living room. “V? Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

It doesn’t surprise Eddie to find himself slammed against the wall, pinned in place just like that first night. It also doesn’t surprise him to feel the impact cushioned by Venom’s own flesh, even as the symbiote forms their face right in front of him.

They’re not angry. They’re _seething_ , and still unwilling to cause him more pain than he’s already in.

**“The hell is wrong with you?”** the symbiote demands. **“We could have destroyed them!”**

“And then LIFE would have known you’re still alive.” Eddie replies tiredly. “Say what you actually want to say.”

Venom snaps their teeth. **“Damn you!”** They slip back into their native language and proceed to cuss Eddie six ways from Sunday. He just stays there, waiting calmly until Venom wears themself out. It takes a bit. Finally, the symbiote just stares at him.

**“Don’t do that again.”**

Eddie shakes his head. “I can’t promise that, V.” When Venom growls, Eddie overrides him. “I’m the weak link here. This is a partnership, but you can offer me a hell of a lot more than I can you. You don’t think I’m going to do whatever I can? Humans can be parasites, too.”

And that shuts Venom up for a moment. Eddie can still feel the fury simmering in the symbiote, but underneath is a horror that chills them to their core.

How are they supposed to protect Eddie when he won’t allow it, when he _fights them_ on it, because Venom knows that’s exactly what Eddie would have done. 

**“That’s not how this works.”**

“I know what I can – “

**“Shut the hell up and listen to me.”** It’s the unexpected use of the singular pronoun that actually makes Eddie shut up. **“The only point in saving this stupid little planet was you. My life is not worth yours.”**

Eddie just looks at him, a soft smile forming on his bruised face. “Yes, it is.”

And if that doesn’t kill the rest of Venom’s anger. It’s really not fair. 

“We’re in this together, V.”

**“You’ve made your point.”** Venom grumbles. They release Eddie from the wall, setting him down gently and seeping back into his skin. **Go lay down before you fall down.** Eddie chuckles as he does so, not bothering to get undressed. Movement like that would only hurt worse.

When he wakes up in the morning, still bruised and painful to look at but with healed ribs and no longer in so much pain, Venom simply says, **We’re in this together.**

Eddie just smiles at the quiet words. “Yeah. We are.”


End file.
